The Man of Sin

I.Have you noticed that when little is said on a particular topic that it generates more
discussion than when much is said?

A.Of course, when little is said the range of possibilities is wide open.

B.It generates strong opinions (not truths, just opinions) which cannot be shaken
because my opinion is worth just as much as your’s. And to me it is worth more.

C.We could easily apply these statements to gossiping, and they do apply, but I
would like us to focus on the speculations made in II Thessalonians 2:1-12.

II.Just who is the man of sin?

A.Since his is “of sin,” it is fairly clear that we are talking about a wicked person (vs
3).

1.He is also called a man of perdition (vs. 3)

a.Perdition means ruin, loss, destruction, or waste

b.It is what Judas was called - John 17:12

2.He opposes God (vs 4)

3.He is without law (vs 8)

4.Acting in accord with Satan (vs. 9)

5.No, he is not a “nice man”

B.The passage also mentions that he sits as God in the temple of God (vs 4)

1.Other passages tell us the temple of God is the church - Ephesians 2:20-22

2.Or all Christians - I Corinthians 3:11-17

C.One thought is that the man of sin is the papacy in the Roman Catholic Church

1.Not any one particular Pope, but institution

2.The problem is that Catholicism is not the only apostasy which developed
from the first century church

a.Gnostics, who believed that all came from one of two Gods or
states – good or bad, that everything physical was sin and based
their teachings on secret knowledge

b.Ebonites, who accepted Jesus as the Messiah, but denied that he
was God.

c.Judaizers, who wanted Christianity to be just a sect of Judaism -
Acts 15:1

d.Nicolaitans, who encouraged God’s people to follow sexual
pleasures and idolatry, as did Balaam of old - Revelation 2:6, 14-15

(1)Irenaeus, who lived about 180 AD, had this to say about the
group. "The Nicolaitans are the followers of that Nicholas
who was one of the seven first ordained to the diaconatee
by the apostles. the Nicolaitans lead lives of unrestrained
indulgence. The character of these persons is very plainly
pointed out in the Apocalypse of John. It shows that they
teach that it is a matter of indifference to practice adultery
and to eat things sacrificed to idols."

(2)Clement of Alexander, who lived about 195 AD, wrote,
"Those who say that they follow Nicholas quote the adage
of that man -- "The flesh must be abused" -- which they
pervert. but that worthy man [Nicholas] actually meant that
it was necessary to curtail pleasures and lusts."

(3)Tertullian, who wrote about 207 AD, stated, "I do not aim
at destroying the happiness of sanctity, as do certain
Nicolaitans in their maintenance of lust and luxury."

e.Montanism, who believed in continuing revelation and ecstatic
utterances which superseded what the apostles taught.

3.The papacy didn’t start until A.D. 606 when the current bishop of Rome
accepted the title of Pope. But by this time the branch that he led no longer
resembled the early church. It is difficult to say that he sat in the temple of
God. They sat in an apostate church, but not in the church itself.

D.Keying off the phrase that he called himself God (vs 4), another line of thought is
that Paul was referring to the Roman emperors.

1.These men established themselves as the head of a state religion and
demanded that incense be burnt each year in their honor.

2.Worse, they accepted the title “Lord God Caesar.” Domitian was probably
the worse of the lot.

3.But none of these men were in the church.

E.Keying off the opposition to God, many see the man of sin as being the Antichrist

1.Because the passage talks about the man of sin’s destruction at the return
of Christ, a large body of beliefs (largely contradictory, but loosely similar)
has arisen.

2.The thought is that just before Christ returns, a man will arise representing
all that Christ opposes. Christ then comes to destroy him and establishes an
earthly kingdom that will last a thousand years. (Some have the rise of the
Antichrist at the end of the thousand year kingdom).

3.The problem is that the Bible does not speak of a single Antichrist.

a.I John 2:18 - many antichrists in the world already and more to
come

b.I John 2:22 - anyone who denies Christ is an antichrist

c.I John 4:3; II John 7 - anyone who denies that Christ came in the
flesh is an antichrist, and such were already in the world.

4.Yes, antichrist is sometimes used in the singular form, but since other
verses tell us there are many, we know that it is a literary technique where
the one represents the many. It is a form of personification.

F.Taking that last thought leads a very plausible explanation. The man of sin could
personify many people’s actions of lawlessness.

1.David Lipscomb and E.G. Sewell suggested, “The man of sin is understood
to be a principle of error or lawlessness that arose in the church ... the
lawless principle is a principle among those claiming to be the Lord’s
people but are not willing to be controlled in all things by the Word of
God.” [Questions Answered, p. 603].

2.McClintock and Strong stated that the man of sin is an “impersonation of
the sinful principle spoken of by the apostle Paul in the emphatic manner.”

3.These quotes aren’t proof, but rather illustrates that the thought is not
unique.

4.With this thought, the man of sin is the disrespect for truth, represented by
a man who usurps the rule of the church and leading God’s people into
apostasy.

5.Such a man of sin is always present, seen in men who oppose Christ, alter
the truth, speak presumptiously, go beyond what has been written, bring in
innovations, or ignoring the teachings of God.

III.The coming and destruction of the man of sin

A.Paul is concerned that in regards to Christ’s second coming that the faith of
Christians would be shaken by ideas, presented as if coming from the apostles, that
Christ’s coming is near (or has already come).

1.Being shaken or tossed by false doctrine - Ephesians 4:14

2.The teaching that it has happened already was occurring - II Timothy 2:18

B.Paul points out that there are things which must first take place

1.There will be a falling away from the truth - I Timothy 4:1-2

2.The sedition must be revealed for what it is, usurping the God’s place of
authority in the church - Ephesians 2:2; 5:6; Colossians 2:8; 3:6

a.The difference between these warnings and the one in II
Thessalonians is that the disobedient are stated in the plural and in
II Thessalonians in the singular.

b.Jesus warned about false Christs before the fall of Jerusalem -
Matthew 24:24

c.John warns about false prophets spreading through the church - I
John 4:1-3

3.When makes judgment on God’s word, one is setting himself up above
God - James 4:11-12

C.At the moment man of sin (the sons of disobedience) is being restrained until the
appropriate time.

1.Exactly what isn’t said, only that Paul had discussed it with the
Thessalonians when he was with them.

2.It is thought that Paul couldn’t put it down in writing because it wasn’t
time to tip God’s hand.

3.We only know that whatever is restraining is in the neuter, referring to a
thing. Yet in verse 7 we are told that God is doing the restraining.

a.In other words, God is using something to keep the apostasy from
spreading too quickly, to keep it from being completely
overwhelming - I Corinthians 10:13

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